I can`t write music permanently.

Every time I start to work on envato - write music properly. But only a couple of months. Then i’m burnt out.
When I start working again (usually after a six-month break) - all the same. A couple of months of good work…
I sit down at the piano … And I can`t create anything. And half a year break again. Raiting get down again.
And so ever. Always!

If all four years, I worked hard, it would have reached success. But as I said … I quickly run out of steam. Muse quickly runs away from me somewhere. And i can`t find her again.
I am here for advice.

Maybe someone has their own methods of getting rid of the loss of inspiration.
I am happy to listen.

I suffer from this problem as well, but have been trying very hard to overcome it lately.

Do you know music theory? If not, I think that could go a long way. Not everything needs to come spontaneously; knowing good chord progressions and scales and constructing a song more mathematically rather than out of a jamming session could possibly be an alternative in those times when you’re not really feeling it.

Inconsistent motivation is another problem for me. I’m trying to counteract that with discipline. I usually only work well when I’m in the mood and inspired, but fail to persevere when I’m not. I’m working on rectifying that by telling myself that a 9-to-5 daily job doesn’t allow me the freedom to only work when I’m in the mood, so why should this?

Finally, I’m trying my best to get inspired. To use my time when I’m not writing music to absorb cathartic influences from movies, games, books, life. Like not… “I’ll watch a movie now”, but instead “I’ll watch a movie now, and at the end I’ll try to figure out its essence, and I’ll focus on that, and then I’ll try to replicate it musically, see where that goes”.

Leech off of everyday life as much as you can to gather inspiration.

Hope any of this is helpful and good luck!

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I think there are a lot of ways that could help. I’ll give some examples of ways that I use, and of some that I’ve heard.
First of all, it’s okay to take a break from time to time, and sometimes breaks are good and even help you have a new approach when you return. But as with any art, if you don’t use it you’ll lose it (to some extent at least).
It’s like building muscle I suppose. You will get burnt out if you do it nonstop for a certain period of time. A couple days break, or even a week sometimes can be a good thing (if you’re in a rut).
If you have great ideas coming, don’t take a break. Get everything you can recorded when you are inspired. Okay, so for my tips.

  1. Listen to great music. If the competition between The Beach Boys and The Beatles was any lesson, it would be this: listening to great music can inspire, motivate, and even drive us to do better than what we hear. Study other music. Don’t get stuck in your own world. The more music you listen to, the more ideas you might get. Although, you also don’t want to completely abandon your own self, or your own unique approach to music. But other music can help us improve our own.
    Like Socrates said (paraphrasing), “By reading we can come learn easily, what others have worked hard for.” So in a similar way, by listening to and studying other people’s music, we can easily learn (well, depends on the music) what they have worked hard for.
    But even further, the very music itself may inspire us so much and move us so much, that it conjures within us an entire albums worth of music and ideas.

  2. Do other non musical things. Go on a hike, go for a walk, serve the community. Great music can be inspired by the things we decide to do, or the people we choose to associate ourselves with. If we only focus on the music and trying to come up with “great” ideas, sometimes it actually stifles us. When we do something meaningful in our daily lives, that may actually be what inspires a great piece of music or a great song.

  3. Take a recorder everywhere you go. Even if it seems like a simple or inconsequential idea, record it. Maybe later it will become something.

  4. Read about what others have done to write music and be creative. I personally haven’t done this one enough. But along with what Socrates said, there are many people who have written about their success and methods in creating music. Why not learn something from them? And they may not only teach you something but inspire you.

I can’t think of much else right now. I hope that helps at least a little.
Good luck!

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Lots of great stuff here - thanks guys!

Well, I have the cure for you.

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Appetite comes while eating.
So don’t expect to do miracles with a few hits of buttons.
You need to work it out and don’t let go.
Keep walking, as Johnny Walker says.

Sometimes a song is finished in over 2 months

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inspiration every day is not possible so keep calm

One core blocker is criticism or perfectionism during the creative process. If you have that, just bypass it and play around with your instrument, don’t try to achieve anything. Think that there is no rules or anything. Leave the critique part for later.

The recorder that was mentioned before (I use Dropvox for iPhone) is also a good one, usually ideas pop up when I’m driving or in the shower, so you just “sing” those ideas or beats on your phone. A song doesn’t actually need but just one idea, beat, chord progression, piano riff, guitar riff - and that’s the core of the song. Then you just build around it.

There was also music theory mentioned. It’s a great tool. I personally think 5% is inspiration and 95% is work. You need to know how to get the sound in your head to audio, that’s why you need musical study.

Lastly, one method is to “copycat” the aesthetics of other songs. You see the top sellers - listen to those and think “maybe I could write something similar too”. Analyze it musically and use same kind of elements. Eg. chord progression is Am, F, C, G - that’s good and popular one, maybe I’ll use that as the core of my song.

You don’t need inspiration to begin work, you can get inspiration while working.

All the best!

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Read the book, “The War of Art”. It helped me alot, especially just finishing things which I have had as a major problem all my life and have only recently been able to get past…

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Interesting, is it really called “The War of Art”? or are you thinking of “The Art of War?” lol
I guess the second one doesn’t make sense. I’ll have to look that book up.

I think it is possible, but it’s not something that can be forced. So in a way you’re right. I think more so, it’s not something that is guaranteed to happen everyday, but I think it’s still possible.

I forgot one suggestion. Something what works for me is to just keep playing and recording. Sometimes I’ve noticed that when I play without recording I’ll come up with great ideas, but then I’ll be upset I didn’t record. So now I try to record even when I’m messing around with presets and settings. Sometimes a spur of the moment idea will come and go, so you have to be ready to record it. Flashes of inspiration come, but if you don’t record it, you may never remember it again.

Listen to new music, explore different genres, take a week break and go traveling somewhere, change the environment that you work in, collaborate with someone, try out new software. I tend to run out of steam after a couple of months as well but I don’t worry about it, that’s the main thing. If you put too much pressure on yourself to make music then you will lose all your inspiration. Its all about having fun at the end of the day!

Very interesting and motivating opinions, guys!